Disclaimer—I hate JB songs, but I had to look them up for this. I'm sorry you have to go through this on the first run-around. I apologize. (Because it goes along with the story, and… I can't say I couldn't help it. Next time I'll pick better music, cross my heart and hope to die and everything.) (Now if one of you picks the song, I will not be blamed for anything.)
Hope you… like it… I guess… (If that's even possible with a beaver song….)
Randomness #1
Seth sat up in bed, trying to get the glare of the sun out of his eyes. It was another school day, and he… couldn't wait for school to end… He lay back down in bed. Juss five more minutes, Mom…
Kendra threw open his door and peered inside. "Seth!" she yelped when she saw him still in his pajamas. "Get up! We need to go to school!"
Seth peered up at her lazily. "That is the most clichéd line I've ever heard before something comes and eats our faces off."
Kendra started to close his door, but stopped and poked her head in. "Who's gonna get us, the big bad wolf?"
"Never say never," Seth yelped as his sister slammed the door shut.
Through the wall, he heard his sister muttering, "Please, never quote Justin Bieber ever again…"
Nothing remotely interesting happened at school—sure, they got a new transfer student—it was some Asian chick, yay, all the Japanese Club kids are going to love her because she's from Tokyo. Or was it Osaka? Same dif, whatever.
There was something that seemed a little off about another boy in his math class, not that it mattered all that much. He'd just lurch over and start acting like a hairball was going to come crawling up his throat. Second period was as boring as first—math, followed by—technically—more math (it was Chemistry, whatever)—and third period was History—or what Seth called European Lit because it was so boring—like British novels. Snore.
After getting through Mrs. Bronson's terrible lecture on why Americans thought that it was their destiny to cross the Universe spreading their stupid ideas because they are stupid (or so Seth thought), Seth shoved all his stuff in his locker and made his way to lunch. Kelsey and Will were already sitting at a table when Seth finally got to where the gross cafeteria food was, grabbed chocolate milk and some grapes (the only actual good thing in the cafeteria), and took a seat next to them.
After talking for about five minutes, Hairball-Boy walked into the room and started looking like he was going to throw up. Seth saw the changes before anybody else did. With his new Shadow Charmer abilities growing every day, it was getting impossible to ignore some very prominent changes in some of the students.
Honestly, Seth would have liked it better not seeing the changes in people. Never knowing what they truly were, underneath what he had thought was just skin and bone.
The boy fell down to his hands and knees, growling and howling in pain. Something split the butt of his jeans open and a long dark brown tail split out. Shagging brown hair burst all over his body, which was growing and contorting into some monstrous…
Big freakin' bad wolf.
And Kendra doesn't even have this lunch, Seth thought angrily. Great. Now I have to deal with this moron.
Seth didn't want to walk over to Used-to-be-Hairball-Boy, but the wolf looked up at Seth, as if knowing what he truly was, and Seth started at Wolfy in plain-as-day fear.
The wolf lurched forward, racing across the room. Seth scrambled away, terrified. Some of the other kids ran out of the cafeteria screaming.
The wolf took a few swipes, and Seth put up his arms in defense. A strange feeling took hold of Seth's body, and he reached out and touched Wolfy's body. As if squeezing all the wolfishness out of the poor teenager's body and into his, Seth screamed, trying to pull his hand away. It wasn't working. As if it was stuck there, Seth's hand stayed were it was until the boy was completely back to normal.
The words to that stupid song came tumbling into his head.
See I never thought that I could walk through fire/ I never thought that I could take the burn/ I never had the strength to take it higher/ Until I reached the point of no return/ And there's just no turning back/ When your heart's under attack/ Gonna give everything I have/ It's my destiny…
No way in hell is it my destiny, Seth thought angrily. Out of sheer willpower, the wolf poison went out like pouring a flood over a tiny fire. Seth's mind went blank, and so did his mind.
The used-to-be wolf-boy stood staring at Seth, confused and concerned.
"What happened?" he asked to the nearly silent room.
The bell rang. Students went back to their class with no hesitation.
Seth spent the rest of the day in the nurse's office.
When Seth woke up back at his house, the words came back up in his head and he fell asleep whispering, "Please, never quote Justin Bieber ever again…"